Revenge
by Sparkles and Rainbows
Summary: is there more to the new paramedic than first meets the eye?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N a new paramedic starts at Holby, but is there more to him than meets the eye? When things start happening, who will realise what is happening in time? Sequel to new chapter, please read and review! Xx **

Dixie spotted her friend walking into the ambulance bay and went over to her "Morning Pol! How were they then?"

"Hi. They were…well, Issy was fine actually. Nieve kicked off big time…as soon as I put her down she started screaming" Polly half smiled at her.

"Oh. Not brilliant then" Dixie laughed "you alright though?"

"Honestly, I'll be fine. I just want to get started!"

"That's what I like to hear. Right, new paramedic starting this morning, called Derek Thomson. You know him?"

"Okay and name rings a bell…" Polly lied, she knew the name all too well, and he was a mate of Devin's. How on earth did he manage to get a job with all his…ah…he didn't have any convictions, did he? He had always managed to frame someone else for his crimes and get away with it. That was part of his problem, he was clever and he knew how to manipulate people into doing what he wanted them to.

"Right, well I had better go and find him then. I'll see you later"

Polly sighed; she had a feeling that this might turn out badly. She knew why he had turned up though, this was revenge.

_5 hours later…_

Finally, the end of her shift. Polly turned to exit the ambulance bay but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you in such a hurry then? Remember me do you?" Derek said.

"What are you doing here?" she spat back at him "What have I ever done to you?"

He laughed, an evil smirk crossing his features "You should have just done what you were told when you had the chance. Before you had a family to think about…"

"What are you getting at? Leave them out of this!"

"Who says I was talking about your kids? Though, of course, now you mention it…now, you listen to me. You need to do as I say"

Polly glared at him; she wasn't prepared to take this, not now. "Why should I do anything you say? What you going to do about it if I don't?"

Derek laughed again, making Polly shudder but try not to show it "You really don't get it, do you? If you don't do as I ask, there will be consequences. Not just for you, you wouldn't want your nice friends here to get hurt, would you? Or your girls? Think how bad you'd feel if anything happened to them…"

Derek spotted Jeff and Dixie approaching them from the other side of the ambulance bay "I'll see you tomorrow then. Think about what I said"

Polly just glared after him before a look of worry flashed over her features. Jeff came up to her, hugging her from behind and making her jump "Jeff!" she scolded him "Don't do that!"

"Pol, what was that about?" Dixie said before the two of them could get into a mini argument.

"Minor professional disagreement" Polly shot back, barely thinking about her response. Smiling at them both, she added "Look, I need to go and pick up the girls from nursery, they'll be wondering where I am…"

Dixie gave her a pointed look but let her go "See you tomorrow. You look after yourself, yeah?"

"Yeah, you too" Polly called back, grabbing her keys from her pocket and starting the engine of her car. How on earth she was going to sort this was beyond her at the moment.

Dixie and Jeff couldn't know. Derek had made that quite clear, if anyone else found out, he would hurt them and make their lives hell as well. She couldn't do that to them, not after everything they'd done for her.


	2. Chapter 2

6 am. Polly scowled as her alarm went off. Alex had already left to go to work an hour ago.

"Right, come on you two. Time to get up!" she said brightly, not surprised that Isabel was already awake and sat up waiting for her "Come on then Issy, lets go get some breakfast, yeah?"

Neither girl was quite at the stage of speaking yet, but Issy grinned and nodded, so she presumed that meant yes. Sitting her in her highchair, she gave her a piece of toast and some milk and went to get Nieve up.

"Nieve? Come on munchkin, time to wake up" Polly said to her daughter, picking her up and sitting down on the floor with her. Nieve simply buried her head in her mother's chest, crying "Hey, what's up with you missy? Come on, let's go and get you fed"

She went downstairs and into the kitchen, but Nieve refused to go in her highchair, clinging to Polly and screaming when she tried to put her in it "Alright, alright baby" she soothed, moving her into the cradle position, hoping that the close contact would calm her daughter. After a couple of minutes she had calmed herself a little and Polly had managed to get some breakfast into her.

_2 hours later…_

Polly walked into the ambulance station having dropped her girls off at nursery.

"Morning Polly" Jeff greeted her, hugging her.

"Morning" spotting Derek just arriving, she walked over to the locker room to get changed.

"Polly?" Dixie called her over, noticing she was paler than usual "You alright? You don't look too good…"

"I'm fine, Nieve got me up at 2 again, that's all"

"Okay, if you're sure. Anyway, you're with me, ready to go?"

"Ready" Polly smiled at her in the hope that she would stop asking her questions. She knew that Dixie meant well, but she couldn't drag her and Jeff into all of this again, she just couldn't do that to them.

After an awkward shift, Dixie went into the staff room to make them a drink, bumping into Derek "Sorry, Derek! I didn't see you there!"

"Don't worry, it was an accident" he smiled, rooting around in his pocket he found the packet of powder that he had been looking for. Waiting until her back was turned; he slipped the powder into Polly's drink and put the packet back into his pocket.

Acting the true gentleman, he held the door open for Dixie, smirking to himself. _That'll teach her_ he thought _teach her to answer me back and deliberately disobey me like that._

"There you go sweet" Dixie handed the steaming mug to her friend, cursing as she managed to spill her own down the front of her uniform "Bugger, I'd better go and get changed again" she laughed, squeezing Polly's hand "I'll see you in a bit, yeah?"

Polly nodded mutely, the drug was already starting to take effect and she tried to keep her balance as she stood up.

"Hey, take it easy" Derek smirked at her "you'll scald yourself" Polly didn't reply; she was rapidly becoming very frightened and disoriented. Her vision was blurred and although she could hear him, she couldn't tell who it was; she had no option but to trust him. "Right, you stay in there…someone will find you…eventually…" he lead her into the rarely used facility room and roughly pushed her so that she fell and hit her head hard against the wall, leaving her unconscious while he locked the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Polly slowly started to regain consciousness and she opened her eyes, trying to make out where she was.

The room had been dimly lit up until a split second ago when the bulb died, leaving her in complete darkness.

_Meanwhile…_

"Jeff, you seen Polly?" Dixie called to him, sighing as she looked around for her colleague.

"No, sorry Dix"

"Pol? Ah, Derek, how about you? Have you seen her?"

Derek shook his head, making sure that nothing obvious was written across his features before he replied "Sorry. Look, I need to get back, I'll see you tomorrow"

"Yes. Fine. Jeff, is Alex on late shifts tonight?"

"I think so" Jeff replied "Why?"

"Bugger. The girls, they're at nursery. Can you pick them up, phone the nursery to let them know why. Then ring Avani, I don't think she's working tonight, so she should be able to look after them"

"Okay"

"Thanks Jeff, I'm going to stay and see if she turns up"

Dixie sighed heavily, turning around to see if anything needed replacing in the ambulance; she may as well do something to keep herself organised.

The morphine container she was holding slipped through her fingers and smashed on the ambulance floor "Oh, give me strength" she muttered, grabbing the dustpan and brush and sweeping up the broken glass and cleaning the liquid off the floor. She grabbed a wet floor sign and put it inside the ambulance to warn people then went to get some more morphine.

She arrived at the utility room shortly afterwards. Grabbing her keys and unlocking the door, she wasn't prepared for what she saw next.

Polly was lying on the floor, blood dripping from a wound at the side of her head.

"Polly! Can you hear me sweetheart?" she asked her gently, taking hold of her wrist to check her pulse. Dixie quickly dressed the wound, cleaning it carefully.

Polly mumbled something she couldn't make out and tried to pull her arm away.

After a few minutes, she suddenly sat up and was sick all down herself and on the floor "Okay, Pol, I need to get you out of here. Do you think you can stand for me?"

Polly shook her head, so Dixie had to carry her; she had checked her over and she had no signs of neck or spinal injury. Once they were out into the harshly lit corridor, Polly whimpered quietly, burying her head in Dixie's shoulder.

"Okay, drink this" Dixie said, handing her a glass of water, noticing how pale she was and how her hands were shaking. What had happened?

Polly drank the water quickly, handing the empty glass to Dixie who put it on the table "Good girl. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Not there, not there. No, no!" Polly cried out, clearly frightened and confused.

"It's alright; I'm not going to take you back there. You're safe, Pol" she decided to leave the questions for now, Polly clearly had no idea what she was asking her "We need to get you cleaned up, get you home"

She did a quick pulse check and checked all of her vitals. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed an old towel and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders to keep her warm and to stop the sick going all over the car. She put another towel over her seat, and then helped her to sit down and put her seatbelt on before driving off.

Pulling onto the driveway, she stopped the engine and got out. She helped Polly get out, and rang the doorbell.

After a moment, Jeff opened the door "Ah, here she is!" he smiled, then, noticing the state of her he added "Dix, what happened?"

"Good question! She was locked in the utility room"

"No, no! Not there, not there" Polly shouted suddenly, clinging to Dixie tightly "Not there"

"Nobody's going to take you back there sweetie, it's alright. Right now, we need to get you cleaned up. Did you get Avani?"

"Yeah, she's with the girls now. She said to stay here in case Polly turned up; I'll go and ring her, let her know we've got her"

"Thanks mate" Dixie started to help Polly up the stairs and into the bathroom and ran a bath for her. She helped her into it and went out the room to give her some privacy, leaving the door open.

The warm water seemed to bring Polly to her senses and she called out to Dixie "Dix? W-what happened? How did I get here?"

"You alright love? I don't really know, I was hoping you could tell me that"

"I-I don't remember anything…"

"You were locked in the utility room at work. I dropped a thing of morphine and I needed to get another one, so I went in to get one and you were lying on the floor"

"W-what?" Polly gasped, what had happened that she couldn't remember?

"You gave me a bit of a shock as well! How are you feeling now?"

"Fine. The girls! I was meant to pick them up; Alex is on late shifts all week"

"Its okay, Avani's with them at your house" waiting until she had got out of the bath and got changed she added "Do you think you can manage to eat something? You still look a bit pale from earlier, you must have fainted when you went into get something…"

"I guess I must have done, I don't remember anything. I'm not hungry"

"Pol, come on sweetie, for me? Just some toast and a drink?" Polly nodded and Dixie smiled at her, leading her into the kitchen.

She was fine at first, but after a couple of minutes the smell of food made her feel sick and she ran into the downstairs bathroom. She coughed and was violently sick into the toilet.

Dixie heard her and came to see if she was alright "Pol? Alright darling, are you going to be sick again?" Polly shook her head "Okay, come on then, let's go and sit down, yeah?"

She sat down with her on the sofa, letting Polly lean against her, tears streaming down her face. Why couldn't she remember anything?

"Shh, shh, you're okay" Dixie soothed, rubbing small circles onto her back and handing her a glass of water.

Dixie shot Jeff a look and sighed. What on earth had happened that afternoon?


	4. Chapter 4

_2 days later…_

Polly was back at home, it was her day off as well as Alex's and the girls were at nursery.

"Pol? You want a drink?" Alex called from the kitchen.

"Water please" she called back, smiling when he handed her a glass of water "that was quick"

"How you feeling?"

"Leave it Alex" she warned, she was in no mood for it; she knew he was worried, but he couldn't know what had happened.

"Alright, alright. Keep your hair on; anyone would think you'd taken something!" he said this without thinking, instantly regretting it "Polly, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it"

"Why'd you say it then? In case it escaped your notice, I didn't take those drugs voluntarily!"

"Polly…"

"No. Why should I have to listen to this?" he moved towards her warily but she backed away, glaring at him "Get out. Get out of my house!"

"Pol, please, just listen…"

"What are you still doing here? Didn't you hear me? Get out!"

Alex sighed; he didn't know what exactly had wound her up so much, but he quickly realised that it would be a good idea to leave her to it until she calmed down. Although she didn't often show it, Polly could have a fiery temper at times.

He heard something smash from downstairs and saw that she had smashed the mirror by punching it "Bloody hell Polly!"

"Get out, get out, get out!" she screamed at him; she felt dreadful but she didn't know how else to get her feelings out. Everything had been fine until Derek turned up. Why did he have to turn up and ruin everything?

As she hit the mirror again, it finally broke the wooden frame and fell to the floor. It was only when she heard the front door slam shut that she allowed herself to break down in tears; she didn't know if she could go through everything again.

Ignoring the sensible voice in her head telling her to go and sort her hand out, she instead grabbed the vase that was on the side table and threw it on the floor. She did the same over and over until you could barely see the wooden floor and her wrist was throbbing too much to continue.

She heard the front door click open and Dixie's voice calling her, then footsteps coming towards where she was huddled in the far corner, crying and shaking "Pol?" she said gently "What happened? Actually, never mind that, come on, come here" she coaxed, carefully leading her out of the room and upstairs into her bedroom.

"H-he's gonna hate me now. I ruined everything!" she cried.

"What happened? Did you have a row over something?"

"Y-yeah. He made some stupid comment about drugs and I just lost it"

Dixie sighed, she thought Alex would have had the common sense not to bring that up, even if he was joking "He should have known better than to bring that up..." she muttered


	5. Chapter 5

"Pol?" Dixie tried to reason with her "he didn't mean it!"

"Then why'd he say it?"

"People say stupid things sometimes…"

Polly scowled at her, making to get up "The girls need picking up" she said bluntly.

"No way, Polly. You're not picking them up in this state" Dixie told her firmly "they don't need picking up for another 2 hours anyway, sit down"

"What state? I'm fine!"

"Polly, shut up and listen for a minute. You're not fine, I don't know what's going on with you at the moment but you're not fine"

"Dixie leave it, please. Nothing is going on that you need to worry about"

Dixie noticed she was starting to get agitated and she went to put her arm around the young girl "What's going on, Pol?" she asked gently, making sure to soften her tone a little "you haven't been yourself again, since that new paramedic started…"

Polly looked to the floor, how could she tell her? "I'm alright, really!"

"Pol, I know you better than that, something's not right. You can talk to me you know"

"Thanks, I know..."

They sat in silence for a while , neither knowing what to say until Dixie spoke again "Is there some history between you and Derek?"

"What?"

"Is there a history between you two that is going to effect you and your work?"

"No" Polly said firmly, looking at her phone when it bleeped to say she had a text. Speak of the devil, she thought. How did he get my number? She quickly scanned through it, glad she was sitting down already. It read: _Dear Polly, Derek here. Just wanted to make sure you're still okay with our little arrangement. If not, tough. Its going to happen whether you want it to or not._

_Need I remind you, it is not only you that can get hurt in this, though of course you would take the brunt of it..._

Polly snapped her phone shut, not wanting to read anymore. She glanced over at Dixie "Alright Pol?" she didn't respond, just went and sat next to her again, rocking back and forth without even noticing it "Okay sweetie" Dixie said, pulling her into a hug and holding her close to her "can I see?" she asked cautiously.

Polly opened the message and showed it to her without thinking, she was in a mild state of shock. "What's going on between you and him? What arrangement? Pol, talk to me"

"H-he knew Devin" she blurted out suddenly "He's here for revenge; because of me his best mate's locked up!"

Dixie cursed under her breath, then sighed. She thought that all this had been sorted out after they were locked up, she hadn't thought that one of his mates would show up as well "Pol, this isn't your fault. We'll sort this, don't worry" she said reassuringly, seeing that Polly had gone almost white and was still shaking.

Little did they know, Derek was on the phone to a mate of his, plotting how best to get his revenge.

_The next day…_

Dixie beckoned Derek into her office "Derek, I need a word please"

"Sure"

"I'll get straight to the point. What is your problem with Polly? She showed me the text that you sent her yesterday"

"I don't know what you mean"

"Oh, really? I think you know exactly what I mean; we know what happened before with her mum and Devin"

"But what has that got to do with me?"

"Come off it, Derek. She told me that you know Devin"

"Right"

"So what is this little scheme that you're cooking up then? She is completely innocent in all of this" Dixie said, taking a deep breath and trying her best not to hit him there and then.

"Dixie, I have no idea what you're talking about" he said calmly.

"Look, just get out. You no longer work here"

Derek glared at her and walked out of her office. Polly was going to pay for that; because of her his best mate was locked up, and now she had made him lose his job. He didn't yet know how he was going to get his revenge, but he knew that he had to get her out of there, somewhere far away with no leads to let anyone know where she might be.

He didn't have to wait long until she appeared. Walking across the ambulance bay she spotted him, quickly glancing around her to see if there was anyone around. She started to back away from him, too scared to not be able to see where he was in relation to him. "Please, don't do this, please!" she begged him, knowing what was coming.

"You've left me with no choice, if you hadn't of shown Dixie that text she wouldn't have known" he advanced towards her, swiftly grabbing her hands and cuffing them behind her back.

Polly was about to scream when he clamped his hand tightly over her mouth and injected her with something in her arm. It took effect instantly and she fell unconscious. He carried her over to his car, throwing her inside and locking the boot.

Derek smiled, getting into the front and starting the engine. He pressed a button to turn on the sat nav and typed in his destination. London.


	6. Chapter 6

After about half an hour of driving, Derek pulled the car over into a nearby service station and parked in the far corner of the car park, away from any prying eyes.

Once he was satisfied there was no-one watching, he went around to the back of the car and unlocked the boot.

The effects of the drug started to wear off as Polly opened her eyes. Why was she in the boot of a car? Her eyes scanned the area for clues and then glittered with recognition when she saw Derek.

She muttered something incomprehensible and he put his hand over her mouth "Can't have you making such a racket now, can we?" he laughed, grabbing a piece of cloth and stuffing it into her mouth before securing it there with tape, effectively silencing her. He injected her again and she fell back into the blackness.

…

Dixie paced the floor of her office. Jeff was sat opposite her; he was sure that she was going to wear the carpet out sooner rather than later "Where is she?" Dixie said, tears welling up in her eyes "this is my fault"

"How do you figure that one out then?"

"I confronted him this morning over the message he sent her yesterday. I just saw red when he kept blatantly denying it, I sacked him there and then. So that gave him an excuse to be lurking around the ambulance bay"

"Look, we don't know anything yet…"

"Jeff! I sacked him at 9:15 this morning, 9:25 she's missing; I think that's just a little bit too much of a coincidence, don't you?"

…

Finally arriving at the old abandoned warehouse in London after hours of driving, Derek picked up the unconscious girl and threw her down on the floor, tying her ankles and arms so she couldn't escape. On the wall were some metal hooks; he grabbed some more ropes, attaching them to the ones she was already tied up with and secured them onto the hooks on the wall.

He quickly blindfolded her, and went outside to move the van.

Derek came back in a few minutes later to find Polly stirring and trying to move. When she realised what had happened she panicked, desperate to get free.

"You're not going anywhere, Pol" he snarled, spitting at her "you need to be a good little girl and stay quiet and still, don't you?" he kicked her hard in the stomach a few times, before hitting her over the head with a plank of wood that was in there.

…

"Dix, come on. Someone has to have seen something, let's go and ask in the ED"

"I suppose you're right. I just don't want to see her getting hurt again; she's already been through so much"

…

Derek threw his finished cigarette into the corner of the room, thinking it would go out on the cold ground. Little did he know that it would soon catch fire on the hay bail that was there and spread like well, wildfire.

He walked over to Polly, smiling. She was breathing heavily and biting down on the cloth in her mouth to stop herself from screaming out. As she heard footsteps coming towards her again she tensed up, staying as still and as quiet as she could in the hope that he might not beat her as much. She knew it wasn't going to work, but she had to try.

He kicked her in the stomach again, over and over, then turned his attention to her right arm. It had already been badly injured from beatings like this twice before, but that didn't stop him; he grabbed the splintered piece of wood again and started to hit her arm time and time again until he could see obvious fractures and breaks.

Polly yelped in pain, fuelling his anger and making him hit her more; he started beating down hard on her left leg and then her pelvis until they both heard the sound of bones breaking and shattering.

After attacking her further and seeing that he had also broken her right hip and at least dislocated her left, he looked around when he felt flames licking at his foot.

"Damn it! This is your fault, it's all your fault! If you had just done as you were told, we wouldn't be in this mess now!" he screamed at her, hitting her over the head again until she could taste blood in her mouth.

Suddenly part of the ceiling came crashing down on top of Derek, knocking him unconscious.

"H-help!" Polly screamed as best she could; the drugs had worn off enough now for her to realise what was happening and that she had no hope of escaping on her own.

After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about 15 minutes, fire crews invaded the building, spraying freezing water everywhere and successfully dousing the flames enough for them to search the building "There's someone in here! Two people, over here, come on!"

Hearing their voices, Polly tried desperately to move and attract their attention, tears rolling down her face from pain and terror. The rope that was around her neck tightened but she fought against it, she had to get them to get her out of there "Okay, love, okay" a gentle male voice said "let's get you untied and out of here, alright?" lowering his voice he added "we need an ambulance, but we can't leave her in here, there's just not time"

Polly whimpered quietly, still writhing around and trying to free herself of the ropes, terrified that he would forget about her "Alright, alright, I'm still here" he soothed her "don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here now" he took the blindfold off and took the cloth out of her mouth and started hacking at the ropes until he freed her, scooping her up in his arms and apologising over and over as he heard her scream in pain "Sorry sweetheart, I know I'm hurting you darling, I'm sorry"

One of his colleagues shouted over to him "That one's a lost cause" motioning towards Derek who was quite clearly already dead, he and another colleague dragged him outside and laid him on the grass.

"What on earth went on in there?" the fireman holding Polly wondered aloud; he wasn't a doctor, but she hadn't been trapped by anything other than the ropes, and her injuries were clearly deliberate "Okay, I need to call an ambulance for you, do you know where you are?" seeing her blank expression, he tried another tack "Where are you from?"

"H-Holby"

"Bloody hell! That's quite a way from here!" another fireman shouted to him that there was an air ambulance on its way "You hear that? Help's on its way! Right, can you feel this?" he did various tests to check her sensation, glad that he hadn't caused any further damage; he had been a paramedic before retraining as a fireman.

He wrapped a blanket around her shivering frame and held her; the poor young woman had been through so much that day and apart from her frequent cries of pain, she seemed content to be held "D-Dixie" she mumbled.

"Dixie?" he repeated, confused "is that your name?"

"No, P-Polly. Want Dixie!"

"So, who is this Dixie then?"

"Boss, Holby City Hospital"

"Do you have a number for her? We can contact her for you"

"P-pocket" Polly was struggling to breathe again and started to cough harshly.

"Okay, I'll ring her. I'm Sam, by the way"

He rummaged around in her pockets and finding her phone, scrolled down until he found the right number. Dixie answered practically on the first ring "Hello? Polly?"

"This is Samuel Kent, I am with Polly at the moment. I'm one of the fire officers that rescued her, we are waiting for the air ambulance to arrive and then she will be taken to Holby City Hospital. Polly asked me to contact you"

"Is she badly hurt?"

"Polly's injuries are serious, but not life-threatening"

"Okay, thank you, bye"

"Bye"

Polly cried out again as a fresh wave of pain hit her and she tried to adjust her position "Polly, it really is going to be a lot less painful for you if you can stay still"

_5 hours later…_

Polly lay on the bed in resus, waiting for the go ahead from theatre, Jeff and Dixie sat either side of her.

The police had been to see her, telling her that Derek was dead. She wasn't yet speaking again, but she was glad that Jeff and Dixie were there with her.


	7. Chapter 7

Polly looked around at the inside of the x-ray machine, feeling more uncomfortable as she lay there; since the last two attacks she had found out she was badly claustrophobic, so this was hardly the ideal situation.

She closed her eyes, trying not to notice how small the space was, but she couldn't, she could only see his face when she shut her eyes.

"Let me out, let me out, please!" she cried after a few moments, she felt like she was going to pass out "Please, I don't like it, I want to come out! I-I…" her voice tailed off as she struggled to breathe, the room was spinning again and she couldn't see straight. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she was only just aware of someone holding her hand and stroking her hair.

"Pol, it's alright babe, I'm here, it's alright" she heard Alex say. She tried to move her head to see him, but she couldn't because of the straps that were holding her still. She writhed around, for a moment going back to the warehouse where she had tried to get the man's attention, but this time just wanting some comfort "Polly, I'm here love, your girls are here too, Dixie's with them back at the ward" he smiled as she started to calm herself down, mentioning her girls usually got a good reaction from her.

"I'm sorry!" she said, suddenly remembering their argument last week.

"Shh, forget about that, I should apologise to you; I should never have said that, I'm sorry"

"Forget it" she half smiled at him, the small smile quickly turned into one that made her eyes sparkle when she saw her girls with Dixie.

"Heya Pol. We've got some news for you, haven't we girls?" Dixie smiled; she couldn't wait to see what her reaction would be.

"Mama!" both girls said in unison before Polly could ask "Mama, mama!"

"They just started saying it when you went for your x-ray, they're early talkers" Dixie laughed, the twins were only 9 months old.

"Mama!" Isabel said, more determinedly this time, reaching her arms out to her mother. Alex picked her up and helped Polly to sit up before placing her down so she could hold her "Hello Issy, I can't believe you two are starting talking so soon! I love you Issy, love you too Nieve"

"Mama!" Nieve joined in, not wanting to be left out "Mama, mama, mama!" Polly smiled at her, kissing her head and cuddling her. She looked at Isabel, who was happily playing with her mother's hair, twisting it between her fingers, but not roughly, as if she had sensed that it might hurt her.

After a while, both girls fell asleep and Alex and Dixie put them in their car seats. "Thank you, both of you" Polly said gratefully "I'm sorry you had to be dragged in to all of this again"

"You don't need to thank me, I love you Pol" Alex said, kissing her "I'm going to take these two home, I'll come and see you tomorrow though"

When it was just her and Dixie, Polly reached out to her for a hug, resting her head on her shoulder; recently, it had become something of a ritual, she couldn't fall asleep on her own. Polly needed someone to be with her to reassure her that she was sfe.


	8. Chapter 8

Polly woke up suddenly, trying to sit herself up but not quite managing to do so; she looked around for Dixie but it was too dark to be able to see anything.

She moved her good hand over the bedrails, panicking and starting to cry when she couldn't find her; she hated being on her own and she hated the dark.

Dixie came back in to find Polly crying and struggling to breathe; she realised she was having a flashback and she felt awful for leaving her "Polly? Pol, its okay sweetie, it's not real, alright? I know it seems real to you but it isn't"

"No, no, no!" Dixie started to become more worried about her now, she wasn't responding and her breathing wasn't getting any better. She grabbed the oxygen mask and put it on her, but Polly moved her head away, thinking she was back in the warehouse with Derek and he was trying to drug her again.

Dixie went to take her hand, but again Polly moved it out of her grasp "Pol, its not real love, it really isn't. You're in hospital, he isn't here, I promise you he's not here" she moved quickly when Polly began to retch before being violently sick all over herself and the bed and then started fitting. Dixie hit the red button on the wall to alert people to the fact that they needed some help "Okay darling, its alright, we're gonna get you some help now, its alright" she tried to keep her tone calm and reassuring; if Polly could hear her, she didn't want to frighten her. She held her head as still as she could so that she wouldn't injure herself and shouted into the corridor "We need some help in here please!"

A doctor and a nurse that were walking past rushed in "What's happened?" the doctor asked her.

"I-I just left her for a second and she just started fitting and then she was sick!" Dixie stammered; she was really worried about Polly.

"Okay, you did the right thing calling us in. Polly, can you hear me?" the nurse said "Polly? No, there's no response"

"Right, give her 10 of naloxone to try stop this fitting then let's get her up to HDU!"

"C-Can I come with her? Please, she's been through enough already" Dixie asked them, standing up and taking Polly's hand in hers again.

In the lift, although she was still fitting badly, Polly opened her eyes momentarily and looked at Dixie, blinking rapidly several times. After a few seconds, her eyes stayed open. Dixie smiled at her reassuringly, stroking her hair; she hated seeing her so vulnerable and scared.

Some more naloxone and other drugs were given to her, and the fitting finally stopped, although her breath was coming in short, quick gasps.

_An hour later…_

Polly was stable but exhausted; the doctor had gone to get some test results for her. "D-Dixie?" she asked, although her voice was barely above a whisper.

"You okay sweetie?"

"I-I was th-there" Polly's voice wavered and Dixie quickly pulled her into a hug, being careful not to aggravate any of her injuries, trying to keep her calm.

"Its alright, you're safe, and he's dead. He can't hurt you anymore" Polly clung to her tightly, burying her head in her shoulder to be comforted. Dixie resumed stroking her hair, holding her close to her.

The doctor came back in with the test results and smiled "How are you doing?" Polly didn't answer him, holding Dixie's hand tightly "Well, I have some good news for you. The tests showed no sign of epilepsy, but you do have asthma, Polly. That's part of the reason your breathing was so hard; I've made you an appointment with the clinic, someone will be down to see you shortly"

"Hey, it's not something that you need to worry about too much, I have asthma. It just means that you'll need an inhaler, and you'll have to have appointments to check your breathing. Sometimes it can be brought on by stress or trauma, you might have had it for a while and just not noticed until now" Dixie smiled, moving so that Polly could lean against her.

Polly had quickly fallen asleep; the whole thing had really tired her out, and Dixie texted Alex and Jeff to let them know she was alright.

When she awoke again an hour later or so, Alex was there; Avani was watching the girls for a while as Jeff was still working "Hey you" he said quietly, kissing her "You alright?"

Polly nodded, giving him a half smile "Tired" she mumbled, leaning back against Dixie who put her arm around her; she knew that Polly liked to be held, it made her feel safe.

"You know you two haven't had a proper date yet?" Dixie said.

"No we haven't, have we?" Alex smiled at his girlfriend, holding her hand in his.

"Well, me or Jeff would be happy to have the girls for you when you're feeling a bit better Pol" she smiled at Polly "You look shattered darling, why don't you try and get some sleep? We'll still be here when you wake up" Polly nodded sleepily and Alex tucked the blanket in around her "Good girl"


	9. Chapter 9

_2 weeks later…_

Polly was well enough to go back home, and she couldn't wait to get back and see Alex and her girls "Dixie" she called over to her, willing her to hurry up "come on, I want to go. I've had enough of hospitals" she laughed.

"Give me a chance, Pol. Crutches?" Polly pointed to them; her injuries were healing well, but she still needed support to walk until her leg was properly healed "Right, shall we go then?"

"Yeah!"

The drive back to Polly's house was short, and soon after they arrived at her house. Dixie helped her out of the car and into the house.

"Mama!" Nieve shouted almost instantly as she heard her mother's familiar voice, and crawled over to her once she was sat down "Hey Nieve" she smiled, picking her up and sitting her down next to her "Where's Issy?"

"Mama?" Issy questioned, holding her arms out; Isabel had been born blind; she didn't know where she was but she wanted a cuddle all the same. Dixie picked her up and sat her with Polly while she took Nieve and went to find Alex "Hi Issy"

"Mama? Bear?" she offered, holding a small stuffed bear out to her mother; although she had been more severely affected by the cerebral palsy initially, her speech seemed to be developing more quickly than that of her twin sister's.

"Aw, thank you!" Polly said, laughing slightly "It's a lovely bear, Issy. Do you want it back?" Issy shook her head "Mama bear"

Polly cuddled her daughter close to her, thinking how lucky she was to have this moment and so many more to look forward to. She thought of Jeff and his children, she knew how much he missed them. Smiling, she thought back to her plan; Jeff was coming round later after his shift. She just hoped it would make him happy.

_*Flashback*_

_She wished she could do something to help; she wanted to do something special for him anyway, to thank him for all his help and support over the past year, and Dixie had agreed with the plan. Getting out her phone, she dialled Sophia's number._

_Sophia answered quickly, wondering why Polly was ringing her "Hello?"_

"_Hi Sophia, its Polly"_

"_Oh hey, can I help?"_

"_Yeah, you might be able to. Listen, I know your dad's really missing you and your brother. How would you like to come over and see him?"_

_She laughed as she heard the young girl's squeal of excitement "Wait, does mum know?"_

"_I've spoken to your mum and cleared it with her. How does next Monday sound, seeing as I'll be out of hospital by then?"_

"_Sounds great, thanks. Polly, are you alright, why are you in hospital?" the young girl sounded concerned for her._

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I'll explain when I see you. See you next Monday then?"_

*End flashback*

Polly smiled as she heard the knock at the door, that would be Jeff. It was time to put her plan into action. She texted Sophia to say that they were ready for them to come over.

"Polly" Jeff smiled, hugging her "How are you?"

"Good thanks. And you?" she said, hugging him back; she couldn't wait to see his reaction.

"Good"

Dixie came into the room and sat down next to Polly, winking at her when Jeff wasn't looking, placing a sleeping Nieve on her mother's lap.

A knock at the door made everyone look up and Alex went to answer it "Ah, come on in. They're just through here"

Jeff didn't look to see who it was, thinking it was probably a neighbour. A small pair of arms wrapped around his neck and made him jump almost out of his skin "Hi Daddy!" he heard his daughter's excited voice say, then his son.

"Sophia, John? How did you two get here?" he asked, baffled.

"Polly called us" Sophia explained "She wanted to say thank you for helping her all of this time"

Jeff had tears in his eyes as he turned to face his friend, hugging her again but not knowing what to say "I wanted to thank you Jeff. I knew you were missing them, so I thought why not. Dixie helped as well"

"Polly, thank you! I don't know what to say other than that; you've given me the best things ever"

Everyone was smiling as Alex came back into the room. Dixie moved so that he could sit with Polly. Nieve stirred in her sleep, cuddling closer to her mother while Alex held Issy.

Polly was glad she had done what she did; seeing the look of happiness on their faces had been enough thanks for her.


	10. Chapter 10

_2 years later…_

"Right, come on Pol" Alex smiled, guiding her out of the car and grabbing the girls' pushchair which also had most of their luggage in; he had booked 2 weeks at the Disneyland Resort in Paris as a surprise holiday for her and the girls.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope" he laughed, he waited until they got to the flight check in desk before he removed the blindfold and allowed her to see where she was while he checked everybody in.

"Alex! Where are we going? Why are you being so secretive?" Polly was confused; he must have done all of this while she was at work.

Alex smiled at her, he knew how impatient she could be but sometimes it was quite amusing as well. He had spoken to Dixie and his work and managed to get the two weeks that he had hoped for; Isabel and Nieve's 3rd birthday was in the first week, Polly's was the week after "You'll find out soon enough, be patient"

"I don't want to be patient" she scowled, making him laugh "I wanna know where we're going!" when they went to sit down he passed her her ticket and she squealed with excitement when she realised where they were going. Alex grinned at her; he knew she would love going to Disneyland "Thank you Alex, you didn't have to do this you know"

Isabel reached out her arms to her mother to be lifted and Polly picked her up, sitting her on her knee "Mummy, where going?" she asked, wondering what all the excitement was about.

"We're going to Disneyland Issy!"

"Meet princess?"

"Yeah, we'll meet lots of princesses, some princes too" she smiled, looking over to Nieve who was sleeping; she didn't know how she managed it, what with all the noise of the airport.

Alex looked at her, he was glad he had done this for her. He had a few special things booked over the two weeks, but the biggest surprise would be when they got home; they had outgrown Polly's little house and needed somewhere bigger. Polly knew that they were moving house, it was brought and paid for, but she didn't know that it would be ready for them to move into once they got back from holiday; he had arranged for someone to be there when the removal people came, and all of Polly's friends had agreed to help out with decorating it. Jeff had offered to do painting and any DIY jobs, and he had left Dixie and Avani in charge of decorating.

After a couple of hours of sitting around, their flight finally appeared on the departures board "Come on Polly, come on girls"

"Let's go to Disneyland!" Polly laughed "I still can't believe you're doing this Alex! I love you"

"Love you too"

_5 hours later…_

Finally they arrived at the resort. The girls were exhausted from the flight and the journey to the hotel and fell fast asleep almost immediately.

Polly's phone rang and she went out onto the balcony to answer it so that she didn't wake the girls up "Hello?"

"Hi Polly, its Dixie"

"Hi! Dix, did you know about this?"

"Know about what?" Dixie tried to keep a straight face but Jeff nudged her, making her laugh.

"Disneyland"

"Me? No, not a thing. Nice surprise though?"

Suddenly it dawned on her that Dixie must have known so that she could book the time off for her "Yeah, thanks Dixie!"

"No problem, have a good time and I want to see lots of pictures. Bye Pol"

"Count on it! Bye"

Alex was sat on the bed, reading and occasionally looking over at the girls to make sure that they were alright "Alex, how long did it take you to organise this?"

"About a week. The main thing is that you enjoy it though; you and the girls deserve something really special" Polly kissed him and let him hold her, she hadn't felt so happy in a long time.


End file.
